Because of You
by FrodoFever
Summary: Recovering from Davy Jones' monster, Jack loses his faith in what he once was. With the help of friends, will he overcome the challenges before him or die in despair? R&R please, thanks! Bad at summaries


/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /

Chapter One

"It's better to be a pirate than to join the Navy." –Steve Jobs

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The ship sliced through the water silently as the sun sunk down in the west. Much has happened, yet it meant very little to me. Feeling a pair of eyes upon me, I turned around to see who it was.

"You've been deep in thought lately, my old friend," the man said. "It's not healthy to be brooding for long periods each day."

I smiled at my friend's reasoning. "You always looked out for me, William, and for that, I thank you."

William clapped me on the shoulder. "Somebody has to look after you. Otherwise, where would you be right now?"

"In the depths of despair working for Davy Jones for eternity," I replied.

"And that, my friend, isn't the path for you. You would die before you work for Davy Jones," William said.

"And that's why you're here to save me from that fate, because you don't want me to come to the same fate as you have," I exclaimed.

William fell silent. I probably said something wrong, but I knew he would get over it quickly as he always had. Or so I thought.

"It's not so much you that I'm worried about," William said. "It's more for my son. I don't want the same life for him. I'm worried about him."

I chuckled softly. "Will's going to be just fine. He's more like you if he's anything."

William frowned. "That's what concerns me."

I sighed. "I know you don't want him to be a pirate, but I'm sure that's not the path he'll take. He's learned a skill growing up in Port Royal and as soon as he chases his demons away, he'll go right back to being the blacksmith that he was."

I watched my old friend as he stared down into the water thoughtfully. I knew he was considering my words and that he didn't believe a word of them. And deep down, I agreed with him. Will Turner was never going back to the old life he once knew now that the knew that there were more things out there than struggling to live day after day and keeping a wife and children at home in a simple house when they could have more. Still, I was confident that Will would find his place in the world and make an honest living for himself. And right now, I wished I knew the same for me.

William turned to look at me. "What are you going to do now, Jack, now that you've got your strength back? You can't just sit around brooding day after day?"

I half-heartedly gave a shrug. To be truthful, I hadn't really thought about what I wanted to do from here. Since my fight against Davy Jones' monster, I had no inspiration for anything. It seemed as if my piracy days were coming to a close.

"I don't know what I want to do really. I feel no calling for anything whatsoever," I answered, kicking a wayward stone into the water.

"Don't you want to go back to piracy, Jack?" William asked. "You're the most famous pirate of the Caribbean—"

I shook my head. "I know I am, but I want to start over. The pirate's life has no meaning for me anymore."

"It won't be easy, starting over," William said. "Not many people will trust a man who was once a pirate."

I nodded. "It won't be easy, but I'm sure many others have done it before me. I need to get back on with my life, get back to normal."

"You will be yourself more if you do something that you know best," William stated. "If you come with me to help me find my son, then you'll never find you'll be more yourself."

I sobered quickly. "I can't do that, William. They think I'm dead and I can't bring back old ghosts." _Little does he know that the ghost is more than me coming back to life._

"You can't always stay locked up on your ship for your life," William said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh, and you don't do that, my friend?"

William sighed. "Being a slave to Davy Jones wasn't my choice, Jack. I would have thought that a man as carefree as yourself would choose such a constricting way of life."

"I'm not trying to do anything of such a thing," I retorted.

"Sometimes the things you need most are the things are the things that you least expect," William said.

I sighed. I knew I couldn't argue with my old friend. He was always stubborn and refused to change his views despite what everybody else thought.

I stood and stretched. "I think I might turn in early, my friend. I've had a long day."

William's eyes narrowed. "You're just changing the subject so you won't have to talk about it."

I bowed slightly. "Talk wearies the mind and despairs the soul."

"For you, maybe, Jack, but I highly contradict you," William exclaimed.

"Well, I wish you well and may your social life never diminish," I stated.

I knew from the look in his eyes that my friend wanted to say more, to argue his point further, but he didn't for which I was grateful. I didn't want to have a long discussion.

William seemed to sense my discomfort. "We'll talk about this some other time, then. I can see that you're weary from the day."

I smiled broadly. "I'm glad that the seemingly new permission rule to leave has been granted to me."

William laughed. "You know you don't need my permission to do anything. You're a grown man, I hope."

I just laughed. Saying good night, I headed down below deck towards my room. Some people would question my friendship with William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, but I didn't care. He was the closest friend I'd ever known and I wouldn't find any other person more loyal and trustworthy. Except for maybe William's son, Will.

Reaching my room, I opened the door and went in before closing the door softly behind me. Seeing my small bed in the corner, I realized I was more tired than I felt. I had hoped that I would get some business done before going to bed. It would have to wait until morning.

Dropping onto my bed, I fell instantly asleep and knew no more.

--

**Author's Note:** It's not much, but I wanted to take a break from my other stories. I don't know where this story will go, but I hope everybody's enjoyed it so far. I'll update it when I'm not busy with what's going on in my life.

Don't forget to review, it makes the writer happy!


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